Sound-deflector for pianos.



PATENTED SEPT. 25, 1906.

T. W. PREEBORNE.

SOUND DBFLEGTOR FOR PIANOS.

APPLICATION FILED APB..19,1905.

.WITNESSES" E: INVENTOR 7202mm warej'fi'eeiarzze ATTORNEYS F 11 cm, WASHINGTON, 1:v c,

THOMAS WEAVER F REEBORNE, OF NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND.

SOUND-DEFLECTOR FOR PIANOS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 25, 1906.

Application filed April 19, 1905. Serial No. 256,385.

To all [1172,0110 it may concern:

Be it known that I, TnoMAs WEAVER FREEBORNE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Newport, in the county of Newport and State of Rhode Island, have invented a new and Improved Sound-Deflector for Pianos, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The invention relates to upright pianos and similar musical instruments; and its object is to provide anew and improved sounddeflector for convenient attachment to or removal from the piano and arranged to concentrate the sounds and direct the same effectively into the room in which the instru- I ment is located and played.

The invention consists of novel features and parts and combinations of the same, which will be more fully described hereinafter and pointed out in the claims.

A practical embodiment of the invention is represented in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a perspective View of the improvement as applied. Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the same; and Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the same, one of the sides of the piano being shown in section.

The upright piano A shown in the drawings is provided at its top A with a front lid A, adaptedto be swung backward onto the fixed portion of the top, as plainly indicated in the drawings, so as to leave an opening A at the top front portion, and over the said opening is set the sound-deflector B for concentrating the sounds and directing the same into the room in which the instrument is located and played.

The sound-deflector B consists of the ends B and a back B connecting the ends with each other, the said back being curved upwardly' and forwardly, as plainly indicated in Figs. 1 and 2. The ends B are provided with outwardly-extending flanges B provided at their under faces with a stop C, of felt or other similar soft fabric material, adapted to rest on the ends A of the piano, it being understood that the deflector corresponds approximately in length to that of the piano A. The lower end of the back B has an extension B, projecting a distance below the ends B, and the rear face of this extension B is provided with a stop C, similar to the stop C and adapted to abut against the front edge of the fixed portion of the top A, as plainly shown in Fig. 2. By having the extension B extending into the piano-casing and by having the ends of the said extension abutting against the inner face of the ends A it is evident that the deflector B is held against accidental longitudinal shifting on the top of the piano-casing. When the de flector B is placed in position on the top of the piano-casing, as described and illustrated in the drawings, then the sounds rising within the instrument when the latter is played pass up through the open bottom of the deflector and are then deflected forwardly by the curved back D and admitted through the open front into the room in which the instrument is located.

By the arrangement described the sounds passing up and through the deflector are concentrated and forcibly directed into the room, so that the full volume of the sound passes in concentrated form into the room and the sound is not difl'used and rendered less audible, as is the case with instruments without the deflector shown and described.

It is understood that the deflector can be readily placed in position on the piano or removed therefrom whenever desired, it being only necessary for the operator to swing the lid A rearwardly prior to placing the deflector in position, and after the latter has been removed the top can be readily closed by swinging the lid back into its normal closed position.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. The combination with an upright piano having a rearwardly-folding lid, of a sound- 9 deflector adapted to be set on the top of the said upright piano to take the place of the rearwardly-folded lid, the said deflector comprising flanged ends and an upwardly and forwardly curved back.

2. The combination with an upright piano having a rearwardly-folding lid, of a sounddeflector adapted to be set on the top of the said upright piano to take the place of the rearwardly-folded lid, the said deflector comprising flanged ends and an upwardly and forwardly curved back, the lower end of which projects downward a distance beyond the lower edges of the said ends.

3. A sound-deflector for upright pianos and like musical instruments comprising flanged endsand an upwardly and forwardly curved back connected with the said ends to form an open bottom and an open front for the passage of the sounds, the under sides of the end flanges and the outer face of the lower part of the back being covered with a soft material to form a stop.

In testimony whereof I have Signed my name to this specification in the presence of L0 two subscribing Witnesses.

THOMAS WEAVER FREEBORNE. v

Witnesses:

GEORGE O. SHAW, GEORGE H. VAUGHAN. 

